Details on project list

Nigel

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On my project list, against each project title I have the following information to help me manage my projects: Goal, AOF, Project Created (Date), Project Start(Date), Project End (Date), Project Title & Notes. I lie to keep all this information here so that I don't have to keep on r referring to my folders/ notes each time.

Has anyone found it useful to keep any more or fewer details on their project list?
 

Castanea_d.

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I'm the other way around on this; very few details on the project list, just enough info to mentally identify it, directions to where the project sheet is (a computer text document usually, sometimes a manila folder), its deadline (if applicable), and most of all, a Next Action. If I start putting more details on the project list, the overall list gets long enough to be hard to grasp quickly. But I see your point that if the project list is so light on information that you have to refer to the project folder to get it back into your consciousness, that is not so good. For me, the Next Action is the key to not needing lots of detail - seeing the Next Action is usually sufficient to mentally trigger the whole project with its ramifications. It helps me also to visit the more important or pressing project folders during the Weekly Review - especially the ones I haven't gotten around to that week - and ensure that their Next Actions are still the right one.
 

Nigel

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I'm the other way around on this; very few details on the project list, just enough info to mentally identify it, directions to where the project sheet is (a computer text document usually, sometimes a manila folder), its deadline (if applicable), and most of all, a Next Action. If I start putting more details on the project list, the overall list gets long enough to be hard to grasp quickly. But I see your point that if the project list is so light on information that you have to refer to the project folder to get it back into your consciousness, that is not so good. For me, the Next Action is the key to not needing lots of detail - seeing the Next Action is usually sufficient to mentally trigger the whole project with its ramifications. It helps me also to visit the more important or pressing project folders during the Weekly Review - especially the ones I haven't gotten around to that week - and ensure that their Next Actions are still the right one.
I take your point. I've just scrapped a lot of my projects and just realized that a lot of the information I keep is not needed. I don't really need the dates because it does not help me when I work on the project. I 'll keep my marker to say if my project is paper or electronic, but a lot of the other stuff I can get rid of. I'll probably add something to say how urgent and important it is. But thanks for your input.
 

Gardener

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I pretty much never need anything but the project name, though it occurs to me that if I had a lot of projects I'd like them sorted by major category, so I guess I really need name and category.
 

Nigel

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I've just deleted/canceled/erased most of my projects because they have 'old momentum' or are just not important in any way now. So I want to get minimalist on my new project and someday/maybe lists.

Now that is what I call very interesting, but can you tell me what you mean by major category/category pls? Does AOf have any importance by how you 'see' your projects?
 

Gardener

Registered
Now that is what I call very interesting, but can you tell me what you mean by major category/category pls?

It's a circular definition. I want the projects sorted by major category. Major category is the thing that I want the projects sorted by. :)

For my personal lists, major category might be things like

Gardening
Financial
Decluttering
Procrastination
Writing
Novel

("Procrastination" refers to things that I don't want to think about; I like to hide them so that the rest of my lists don't repel me, and when I'm feeling up to it, I look at those items.)
("Writing" and "Novel" feel like they should be a category and subcategory, but I don't much like subcategories. Most of my writing is in "Novel", but I like a bucket for other things.)

Does AOf have any importance by how you 'see' your projects?

Not for me, no.
 

Nigel

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Gotcha, thanks for clearing that one up.

For myself, i had lots of dates and things but at the end of the day, i didn't really need that date I first thought of the project or the date I started it because they are largely irrelevant. I'll keep a project on my project list until its done or until I've decided it is out of date.
I think the only thing I'll keep against each project is the area of focus it generally comes under. That is good for self-improvement. To be quite honest, I'm not quite up to adding a due date yet. Thx.
 

treelike

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("Procrastination" refers to things that I don't want to think about; I like to hide them so that the rest of my lists don't repel me, and when I'm feeling up to it, I look at those items.)
I don't think that would work for me- I'd procrastinate on looking at my procrastination list, even if I was feeling up to it.
 

Nigel

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I don't think that would work for me- I'd procrastinate on looking at my procrastination list, even if I was feeling up to it.
A procrastination list that is a new one on me. I had far too much on my someday/maybe list so I just decided to scrap it an start again. I even turned some items from projects to goals when I tried to define them. So I may just put all the ones I've yet to rediscover into what has been called Granny's Attic. But a procrastination list may help me because it takes me so long before I realise I'm procrastinating about some, thing. So Thx.
 
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